Tips for parenting children with ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of most common mental health disorders around the world. While the disorder can develop in adults, it is mostly associated with children, with the main symptoms being the inability to maintain sustained focus and struggling to develop strong social bonds.

For parents with children diagnosed with the condition, parenting can pose several challenges. If you happen to be such a parent, this post should come in handy, as we've compiled some of the top tips that will help you to be a good father/mother to your child.

1. Encourage your child to exercise

Children with ADHD tend to have much higher energy levels than those who don’t have the condition. Exercise is one of the most helpful practices that can help a child with ADHD to burn off excess energy, which can do one or more of the following positive things:

• Brain stimulation

• Promotion of sustained focus and concentration on a particular task

• Lowering the risks of developing anxiety and depression

• Improving quality of sleep

Ideally, you should encourage your child to practice more than one form of exercise so that things don’t get boring. For example, a day of running followed by a day of yoga followed by a day of martial arts.

2. Simplify complex tasks

ADHD-diagnosed children are known to dislike simple tasks, but at the same time, tasks that may seem too complex to them will automatically put them off. As a parent, you have to step in and make a difference by breaking down complex tasks to ensure that they seem doable for your child. For example, your child may have trouble when asked to clean a room. But if you break the task down into smaller tasks such as folding clothes, making the bed and so on, it will seem more achievable to the child.

3. Ensure a distraction-free environment

The trouble with ADHD-diagnosed children is that they are quick to turn to distractions owing to things in their immediate environment. This is one of the biggest reasons why they fail to do well in their academic lives. However, this can be managed by removing distractions from your child’s room. For example, if there are toys and video game consoles in your child’s room, it’s best to put them away, at least during the time that your child is supposed to study.

4. Provide positive reinforcement

While it can be difficult for you to regularly see your child struggle with activities that other children can perform easily, it will become more difficult for your child in the long run if you resort to reprimanding for the mistakes made. Instead, choose a more reassuring and encouraging tone. As long as positive reinforcement comes from the parent, an ADHD-diagnosed child will develop self-esteem and self-respect.

5. Be patient

Irrespective of what you do to make the situation better for your child, you’ll have to be patient to see the results. Expecting too much too soon will only lead to disappointment and when there’s too much disappointment, it’s easy for the parent to get overwhelmed and lash out at the child.

At Phoenix Family Medical Clinic, our team of physicians and caregivers ensures that ADHD-diagnosed children are given the medical care and attention that they need and deserve.

• Prev
• Next